Computer puzzle game
Encyclopedia
Puzzle video games are a genre of video games that emphasize puzzle
solving. The types of puzzles to be solved can test many problem solving skills including logic
, strategy
, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion.
s and adventure game
s involve puzzles such as obtaining inaccessible objects, a true puzzle game focuses on puzzle solving as the primary gameplay activity. Games usually involve shapes, colors, or symbols, and the player must directly or indirectly manipulate them into a specific pattern.
Rather than presenting a random collection of puzzles to solve, puzzle games typically offer a series of related puzzles that are a variation on a single theme. This theme could involve pattern recognition, logic, or understanding a process. These games usually have a simple set of rules, where players manipulate game pieces on a grid, network or other interaction space. Players must must unravel clues in order to achieve some of victory condition, which will then allow them to advance to the next level. Completing each puzzle will usually lead to a more difficult challenge, although some games avoid exhausting the player by offering easier levels between more difficult ones.
, Klax and Lumines
. Tetris, designed in 1985, is considered one of the most important video puzzle games and has spawned many sequels, variations, and clones of the "falling block" variety. Others present a preset game board or pieces and challenge the player to solve the puzzle by achieving a goal (Bomberman
, The Incredible Machine). Some of the games in the former category have a mode that plays like the latter. For example, in both Tetrisphere
and Tetris Attack
, there is a "puzzle mode" in which the player must clear a pre-defined board within a certain number of moves. Another type of puzzle game requires you to build systems out of supplied parts. These games include Microsoft Tinker
, Crazy Machines
, and Crazy Machines 2
.
Puzzle games are often easy to develop and adapt, being manifest on dedicated arcade units
, home video game console
s, personal digital assistant
s, and mobile phone
s. Because puzzle games are often so abstract, the term is sometimes also used as a blanket term for games with unique and otherwise difficult to describe gameplay.
The game Minesweeper is notable because of the large installed user base, as the game comes bundled with the Microsoft Windows
operating system
, many distributions of Linux
, and some older Palm OS
operating system
variants, among others.
) or indirectly (Lemmings
). This can cross-over with other action genres: a platform game
which requires a novel mechanic to complete levels might be a "puzzle platformer", such as manipulating time in Braid
. Finally, it includes other action games that require timing and accuracy with pattern-matching or logic skills, such as the first-person Portal.
Other notable action puzzle games include Team Ico
's Ico
, and Shadow of the Colossus
.
A hidden object game (sometimes called hidden picture) is a genre of puzzle video game in which the player must find items from a list that are hidden within a picture. Hidden object games are a popular trend in casual gaming
, and are comparatively inexpensive to buy. Time-limited trial versions of these games are usually available for download.
Publishers of hidden object games include Sandlot Games
, Big Fish Games
, Awem Studio, SpinTop Games, Codeminion
and many more. Examples of hidden object game series include Dream Chronicles
(PlayFirst
), Mortimer Beckett
(RealArcade/GameHouse
), Hidden Expedition
and Mystery Case Files
(both by Big Fish Games).
A recent Social Network variant of hidden object games is the free-to-play (Facebook) game Gardens of Time.
to complete each puzzle. Physics games use realistic physics to make games more challenging. The genre is especially popular in online
flash games and mobile game
s. Educators have used physics games to demonstrate principles of physics.
Popular physics games include World of Goo
, Crayon Physics Deluxe, Angry Birds
, Cut the Rope
, and Peggle
.
and mahjong solitaire
. Even familiar word puzzles, number puzzles, and association puzzles have been adapted into games such as Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training.
and puzzle
s throughout human history. Many educational game
s were created in the early years of game consoles, and created a template for games that involved thinking and strategy without any action or adventure. Likewise, maze games in the arcades
were another precursor to puzzle games (see 1979's Heiankyo Alien
, for example). Several action game
s also focused on mental challenges, including the action-puzzle hybrid Q*bert from 1982. Another early example of a puzzle-oriented game was Konami
's Loco-Motion that same year. Skyler Miller of GameSpot
argues that Atari Video Cube
, also from the same year, "gets my vote as the first true puzzle video game," involving gameplay similar to a Rubik's Cube
in a 2-dimensional space. Later implementations such as GNUbik
provided a more faithfull reproduction of the original puzzle. Other early puzzle games included puzzle-platformers such as Enix
's Door Door
(1983), Sega
's Doki Doki Penguin Land
(1985), and the earlier Space Panic
(1980).
Tetris
is credited for revolutionizing gaming and popularizing the puzzle genre. The game was created by Russian
game designer Alexey Pajitnov in 1985, but did not become popular until it was released for the Nintendo
Game Boy
in 1989. Tetris was inspired by a traditional puzzle game named Pentomino
, where players would have to arrange falling blocks into lines without any gaps. The game was a moderate success on the PC and in arcades, but it sold 30 million copies on the Game Boy alone.
The 1990s also saw the release of Lemmings
, which is considered one of the greatest puzzle games of all time. The game involved a series of creatures who mindlessly walked into deadly situations, and the player was given the ability to assign jobs to specific lemmings in order to guide the swarm to a safe destination. 1994 was marked by a surge in interest in mahjong video games from Japan
. When Minesweeper
was released with Windows 95
, mainstream audiences embraced using a mouse to play puzzle games.
Puzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
solving. The types of puzzles to be solved can test many problem solving skills including logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
, strategy
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion.
Definition and gameplay
Puzzle games focus on logical and conceptual challenges, although occasionally the games add time-pressure or other action-elements. Although many action gameAction game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
s and adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
s involve puzzles such as obtaining inaccessible objects, a true puzzle game focuses on puzzle solving as the primary gameplay activity. Games usually involve shapes, colors, or symbols, and the player must directly or indirectly manipulate them into a specific pattern.
Rather than presenting a random collection of puzzles to solve, puzzle games typically offer a series of related puzzles that are a variation on a single theme. This theme could involve pattern recognition, logic, or understanding a process. These games usually have a simple set of rules, where players manipulate game pieces on a grid, network or other interaction space. Players must must unravel clues in order to achieve some of victory condition, which will then allow them to advance to the next level. Completing each puzzle will usually lead to a more difficult challenge, although some games avoid exhausting the player by offering easier levels between more difficult ones.
Types of puzzle games
Some puzzle games feed to the player a random assortment of blocks or pieces that they must organize in the correct manner, such as TetrisTetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
, Klax and Lumines
Lumines
is a puzzle video game based on sound and light patterns. Created by game designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi and his company, Q Entertainment, it was first released as a launch title for the PlayStation Portable in Japan on December 12, and released in North America on March 23 and released in Europe on...
. Tetris, designed in 1985, is considered one of the most important video puzzle games and has spawned many sequels, variations, and clones of the "falling block" variety. Others present a preset game board or pieces and challenge the player to solve the puzzle by achieving a goal (Bomberman
Bomberman
Bomberman is a strategic, maze-based computer and video game franchise originally developed by Hudson Soft. The original game was published in 1983 and new games in the series are still being published to this day. Today, the commercially successful Bomberman is featured in over 70 different games...
, The Incredible Machine). Some of the games in the former category have a mode that plays like the latter. For example, in both Tetrisphere
Tetrisphere
Tetrisphere is a falling block puzzle video game for the Nintendo 64 console. Developed by Canadian company H2O Entertainment, a nearly-complete version of the game was originally slated for release on the Atari Jaguar in early 1995...
and Tetris Attack
Tetris Attack
Tetris Attack is a puzzle video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System home video game console and Game Boy handheld game console...
, there is a "puzzle mode" in which the player must clear a pre-defined board within a certain number of moves. Another type of puzzle game requires you to build systems out of supplied parts. These games include Microsoft Tinker
Microsoft Tinker
Microsoft Tinker is a puzzle video game in which the player controls a robot through various mazes and obstacle courses. It was originally released on September 23, 2008 as part of Windows Ultimate Extras, and contained 60 levels including a 20-level tutorial...
, Crazy Machines
Crazy Machines
Crazy Machines is a puzzle computer game created by a FAKT Software GmbH. Crazy Machines based many of its ideas on The Incredible Machine series of games...
, and Crazy Machines 2
Crazy Machines 2
Crazy Machines 2 is a Puzzle video game developed by for the Microsoft Windows platform. It is available in retail form and on Steam for download.-Gameplay:...
.
Puzzle games are often easy to develop and adapt, being manifest on dedicated arcade units
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
, home video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
s, personal digital assistant
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
s, and mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s. Because puzzle games are often so abstract, the term is sometimes also used as a blanket term for games with unique and otherwise difficult to describe gameplay.
The game Minesweeper is notable because of the large installed user base, as the game comes bundled with the Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, many distributions of Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, and some older Palm OS
Palm OS
Palm OS is a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
variants, among others.
Action puzzle
An action puzzle or arcade puzzle requires that the player manipulates game pieces in a real-time environment, often on a single screen and with a time limit, to solve the puzzle or clear the level. This is a broad term that has been used to describe several subsets of puzzle game. Firstly, it includes falling-block puzzles such as Tetris and KLAX. It includes games with characters moving through an environment, controlled either directly (Lode RunnerLode Runner
Lode Runner is a 1983 platform game, first published by Brøderbund. It is one of the first games to include a level editor, a feature that allows players to create their own levels for the game. This feature bolstered the game's popularity, as magazines such as Computer Gaming World held contests...
) or indirectly (Lemmings
Lemmings (video game)
Lemmings is a puzzle computer game developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis in . Originally developed for PC and Commodore Amiga, Lemmings was one of the most popular computer games of its time, and several gaming magazines gave it some of their highest review scores at the time...
). This can cross-over with other action genres: a platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
which requires a novel mechanic to complete levels might be a "puzzle platformer", such as manipulating time in Braid
Braid (video game)
Braid is a platform and puzzle video game developed by independent software developer Jonathan Blow. The game was released on August 6, 2008 for the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service. A Microsoft Windows version was released on April 10, 2009. Hothead Games ported and released the game to Mac OS...
. Finally, it includes other action games that require timing and accuracy with pattern-matching or logic skills, such as the first-person Portal.
Other notable action puzzle games include Team Ico
Team ICO
Team Ico is a Japanese video game development team led by game designer Fumito Ueda. It is part of SCE Japan Studio's Product Development Department #1, Team Ico developed the games Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, both for the PlayStation 2...
's Ico
Ico
is an action-adventure game published by Sony Computer Entertainment and released for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was designed and directed by Fumito Ueda, who wanted to create a minimalist game around a "boy meets girl" concept. Originally planned for the PlayStation, Ico took...
, and Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus, released in Japan as , is an action-adventure game published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game was released in North America and Japan in October 2005 and PAL territories in February 2006...
.
Hidden object game
Casual game
A casual game is a video game targeted at or used by a mass audience of casual gamers. Casual games can have any type of gameplay, and fit in any genre. They are typically distinguished by their simple rules and lack of commitment required in contrast to more complex hardcore games...
, and are comparatively inexpensive to buy. Time-limited trial versions of these games are usually available for download.
Publishers of hidden object games include Sandlot Games
Sandlot Games
Sandlot Games is a casual and family-friendly games developer and publisher based in Bothell, Washington, United States. It was founded in 2002 by Daniel Bernstein, a veteran of the casual gaming industry, whose experience spans from game development to content strategy at WildTangent, Monolith,...
, Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games is a provider of Internet media delivery software and game services based in Seattle, Washington. The company was founded in 2002 by Paul Thelen , and currently employs more than 400 people...
, Awem Studio, SpinTop Games, Codeminion
Codeminion
Codeminion is a video game developer based in Warsaw, Poland. Founded in 2004, Codeminion primarily builds downloadable casual games, with Magic Match being their biggest commercial success to date...
and many more. Examples of hidden object game series include Dream Chronicles
Dream Chronicles (series)
Dream Chronicles is an adventure, hidden object and puzzle casual game series created by KatGames and published by PlayFirst. It is also the name of the first game in the series...
(PlayFirst
PlayFirst
PlayFirst is a San Francisco-based publisher of casual games. The company’s mission is to deliver delightful games for everybody, every day. PlayFirst was founded in 2004 by industry veterans...
), Mortimer Beckett
Mortimer Beckett
Mortimer Beckett is a video game series that consists of four games so far. All the games are adventure games, or point 'n clicks.The main plot is always to find items to advance to higher chapters. Also, you can use items called "puzzle pieces" which...
(RealArcade/GameHouse
GameHouse
GameHouse is a casual game developer, publisher, digital video game distributor, and portal, based in Seattle, Washington, United States-History:...
), Hidden Expedition
Hidden Expedition
-General:Hidden Expedition is a series of casual games developed by the internal studios of Big Fish Games .The Hidden Expedition series marks the second major hidden object game brand from BFG. In such games, the player must locate various objects which are hidden in a cluttered scene...
and Mystery Case Files
Mystery Case Files
Mystery Case Files is a series developed by the internal studios of Big Fish Games. The Mystery Case Files series is known for its ‘Hidden Object’ puzzles where, in order to progress through a game, the player must find a certain number of items hidden somewhere on a painted scene.There have been...
(both by Big Fish Games).
A recent Social Network variant of hidden object games is the free-to-play (Facebook) game Gardens of Time.
Reveal the picture game
A reveal the picture game is a type of puzzle game that features piece-by-piece revealing of a photo or picture.Physics game
A physics game is a type of puzzle video game wherein the player must use the game's physicsGame physics
Computer animation physics or game physics involves the introduction of the laws of physics into a simulation or game engine, particularly in 3D computer graphics, for the purpose of making the effects appear more real to the observer...
to complete each puzzle. Physics games use realistic physics to make games more challenging. The genre is especially popular in online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
flash games and mobile game
Mobile game
A mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, tablet computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable....
s. Educators have used physics games to demonstrate principles of physics.
Popular physics games include World of Goo
World of Goo
World of Goo is a physics-based puzzle game by 2D Boy, an independent game developer consisting of Kyle Gabler and Ron Carmel, both former Electronic Arts employees, released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, Android and WiiWare...
, Crayon Physics Deluxe, Angry Birds
Angry Birds
Angry Birds is a puzzle video game developed by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Mobile. Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for Apple's iOS in December 2009...
, Cut the Rope
Cut the Rope
Cut the Rope is an award-winning physics-based puzzle video game for handheld gaming platforms. It was developed in 2010 by Russian developers ZeptoLab and is published by Chillingo. On iOS, it uses the Crystal and Game Center social networking services. On Android, it uses Scoreloop social...
, and Peggle
Peggle
Peggle is a casual puzzle video game developed by Sukhbir Sidhu and Brian Rothstein of PopCap Games. Initially released for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X systems in 2007, it has since had versions released for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, the Nintendo DS , Windows Mobile, the iPod, the...
.
Traditional puzzle
There have also been many digital adaptations of traditional puzzle games, including solitaireSolitaire
Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself or with other people. The solitaire card game Klondike is often known as simply Solitaire....
and mahjong solitaire
Mahjong solitaire
Mahjong solitaire is a solitaire matching game that uses a set of Mahjong tiles rather than cards. It is also known as Shanghai solitaire, electronic or computerized mahjong, MahJong solitaire, solitaire Mahjong and, erroneously, as Mahjong...
. Even familiar word puzzles, number puzzles, and association puzzles have been adapted into games such as Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training.
Origins and popularity
Puzzle video games owe their origins to brain teaserBrain teaser
A brain teaser is a form of puzzle that requires thought to solve. It often requires thinking in unconventional ways with given constraints in mind; sometimes it also involves lateral thinking. Logic puzzles and riddles are specific types of brain teasers....
and puzzle
Puzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
s throughout human history. Many educational game
Educational game
Educational games are games that have been designed to teach people about a certain subject, expand concepts, reinforce development, understand an historical event or culture, or assist them in learning a skill as they play...
s were created in the early years of game consoles, and created a template for games that involved thinking and strategy without any action or adventure. Likewise, maze games in the arcades
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
were another precursor to puzzle games (see 1979's Heiankyo Alien
Heiankyo Alien
is a video game created by the University of Tokyo's Theoretical Science Group in 1979. The game was originally developed and released as a personal computer game in 1979, and was then published by Denki Onkyō Corporation as an arcade game in January 1980...
, for example). Several action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
s also focused on mental challenges, including the action-puzzle hybrid Q*bert from 1982. Another early example of a puzzle-oriented game was Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Loco-Motion that same year. Skyler Miller of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
argues that Atari Video Cube
Atari Video Cube
Atari Video Cube is an action game released for the Atari 2600, developed and published by Atari in 1982. It is a single-player game, and uses an Atari joystick.-Gameplay:...
, also from the same year, "gets my vote as the first true puzzle video game," involving gameplay similar to a Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
in a 2-dimensional space. Later implementations such as GNUbik
GNUbik
GNU Gnubik is a puzzle game - a software implementation of the Rubik's Cube. It is cross platform and is included in all major operating systems including Debian, Red Hat and Ubuntu.- Features :...
provided a more faithfull reproduction of the original puzzle. Other early puzzle games included puzzle-platformers such as Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
's Door Door
Door Door
is a Japanese-developed puzzle-platformer video game designed by Koichi Nakamura and published by Enix. As Enix's debut title, Door Door first released in February 1983 for the NEC PC-8801 and was subsequently converted for other Japanese computers. The game's success prompted a Famicom port and an...
(1983), Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's Doki Doki Penguin Land
Doki Doki Penguin Land (series)
Doki Doki Penguin Land is a series of puzzle platform games developed and published by Sega, and which began in 1985. All games in the series feature a very similar formula whereby players guide an egg to the bottom of a level by moving or destroying blocks...
(1985), and the earlier Space Panic
Space Panic
Space Panic is a 1980 arcade game designed by Universal, which Chris Crawford calls the first ever platform game, as it pre-dates Nintendo's Donkey Kong which is often cited as the original platform game. Space Panic lacks Donkey Kongs jump mechanic, disqualifying it as a platformer for some...
(1980).
Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
is credited for revolutionizing gaming and popularizing the puzzle genre. The game was created by Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
game designer Alexey Pajitnov in 1985, but did not become popular until it was released for the Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
in 1989. Tetris was inspired by a traditional puzzle game named Pentomino
Pentomino
A pentomino is a polyomino composed of five congruent squares, connected along their edges ....
, where players would have to arrange falling blocks into lines without any gaps. The game was a moderate success on the PC and in arcades, but it sold 30 million copies on the Game Boy alone.
Refinement
Several dozen puzzle video games were created in the 1990s, with many games allowing players to arrange falling blocks as seen in Tetris. The original Tetris itself inspired a series of sequels, clones, and knock-offs. However, there were several innovative games, including Pipe Dream (also known as "Pipe Mania"), a 1989 release that challenged players to create an unbroken chain of pipes to divert a toxic liquid.The 1990s also saw the release of Lemmings
Lemmings (video game)
Lemmings is a puzzle computer game developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis in . Originally developed for PC and Commodore Amiga, Lemmings was one of the most popular computer games of its time, and several gaming magazines gave it some of their highest review scores at the time...
, which is considered one of the greatest puzzle games of all time. The game involved a series of creatures who mindlessly walked into deadly situations, and the player was given the ability to assign jobs to specific lemmings in order to guide the swarm to a safe destination. 1994 was marked by a surge in interest in mahjong video games from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. When Minesweeper
Minesweeper (Windows)
Windows Minesweeper is a variant of the computer game Minesweeper, created by Curt Johnson, originally for OS/2, and ported to Microsoft Windows by Robert Donner, both Microsoft employees at the time...
was released with Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
, mainstream audiences embraced using a mouse to play puzzle games.